Dubai Business Setup: Proprietorship v/s Partnership, Which is right for you?
Another important decision is the legal entity of your business setup in Dubai, and this will depend on the number of shareholders, or whether these shareholders are considered natural persons or legal persons in the UAE.
If your business is commercial in nature such as trading or contracting, the ideal option on the mainland is a limited liability company (LLC), with a minimum of one and a maximum of 50 shareholders.
If you are an entrepreneur based in the UAE or a business owner from another part of the world with plans for providing service-related activities in the UAE market, you can set up a new company in Dubai, with a sole proprietor mainland licence. You can also register your new business in Dubai as a freelancer, free zone limited liability company (FZ LLC), free zone entity (FZE) or free zone company (FZ CO) at one of Dubai’s 30 plus free zones.
UAE also provides licences for various entities such as branches, representative offices of foreign companies, regional headquarters and ‘single family offices’ where all shareholders are from the same family.
For companies with more than 50 shareholders, they are typically registered in Dubai as a private limited company (PLC). The public joint stock company (PJSC) is a more complex structure with management by a collegial body of directors acting as trustees for shareholders.
Our network of lawyers, chartered accountants, and financial consultants will help you with feasibility studies, due diligence, corporate structuring and restructuring towards successful company formation in the UAE.